Drowning in Playmobil and Other Stories: A brief introduction.....

OK, I'll admit it. I am NOT the sort of person who should have a blog. I don't actually DO that much, and what I do is not terribly interesting. Nevertheless, I thought it might be a challenge to make such activities as ironing baby-gros, picking pieces of Playmobil from between my toes and cooking family meals on a budget of £25.00 a week sound like a worthwhile way to spend my life. And, I must confess, I do have two rather cute kids; one of whom is a born entertainer. The other one is too small to do much at the moment, other than sleep and poo (which he does beautifully, may I add, before someone accuses me of favouritism?).

This is me - the ugly one in the blue hippy dress, in case you're wondering. On my lap is Ellis, but more about him in a minute.

As I write, I am 36, still only 5ft tall, and in desperate need of a hair colour to 'subtly' hide my grey. I like cooking, reading, trying to be a gardener, moaning, nagging and writing lists of things to try to keep my life in some semblance of order. I hate dirty kitchens, crumbs in the toaster, odd socks and custard.
I'm Pagan. I'll be honest here, I'm not really sure what sort of Pagan category I would fall into - I'm not even sure whether Pagan should have a capital P. So I'm probably not a terribly good p/Pagan. But I know what I believe in, I know what I practice, and it doesn't really fit into any category. But I'm definitely NOT a Wiccan. That much I do know. In fact, speak to most P/pagans and they'll probably say the same as me. That's the beauty of it - it is incredibly personal, and therefore very hard to pigeon-hole people. Maybe I'll tell you more about it as this blog goes on.

Anyway, onto the stars of the show:

This is the ever-lovely Richard. As you can see, he is not blessed in the hair department, but this does not put him off living a relatively normal life. Richard is also 36, but couldn't care less about what he does have going grey. Richard loves all the things I hate - free online poker, action films and Beyonce Knowles. He also loves breaking cars (more about the sad demise of our Rover later, I'm sure), pretending not to hear me, and chocolate.
Richard is not pagan, but quite likes the opportunity to light big fires in the garden at certain times of the year.
Richard and I got together when we both lived in London. Somehow, he persuaded me to move to Scotland, but I suspect that the 5 pints of strong lager may have been a factor. We've been together 9 years this April and seem to tolerate each other enough to produce the two visions of gorgeousness you see below.

This is Ellis. Ellis was born on April 16th 2006 at 7.58am, weighing in at a not-so-mighty 5lbs 11ozs. Ellis loves Peppa Pig, Fireman Sam, refusing to eat anything except chocolate, walks in the countryside, throwing tantrums, being utterly charming to old ladies (particularly 2 seconds after a major tantrum which has left me in tears in the middle of the Main Street) and colouring in. Particularly on the table, the walls, his face or his brother. Ellis can prove that yes, toddlers WILL starve rather than eat anything sensible, and that ultra-washable felt-tip pens are not quite as ultra-washable as the manufacturers claim.

And this is Finlay, or Fin as we call him in our hoose. You are looking at the first photographic evidence of a) Fin's first smile and b) the only time he stopped crying in about three weeks.
Fin was born on November 13th 2008 at 4.21am, shortly after a midwife told me to stop moaning about Braxton Hicks. He was a relatively massive 6lbs 13oz. Fin is currently keeping the makers of Infacol in business, and likes sleeping during the day, Cow and Gate Hungrier Baby Milk, and pooing spectacularly up the back of his vest and out of his trouser legs. He hates sleeping when everyone else is asleep, and being drawn on by his brother.

A point of interest for any amateur astrologers - our family now covers all the elements: I am Libran (Air), Richard is Taurus (Earth), Ellis is Aries (Fire) and Fin is Scorpio (Water).
I have already been told by a Wise Woman that I am going to have a rather interesting time trying to use my Libran diplomacy to tame an Aries and a Scorpio, and she actually suggested that I go back to work and allow the Bull of the house to pull them into line.....yeah, like that's going to happen any time soon.....